Snowdrop, an end-of-winter flower

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Small white bells nod on 6 to 8 inch stems from midwinter to early spring, opening while snow still lies on the ground. Snowdrop (Galanthus) is the bulb that carpets forest underbrush and rocky corners at the tail of winter, and it will come back year after year provided the bulbs stay undisturbed and cool through summer.

Planting is in fall and caring for it is truly very easy for your garden to sprout these cute little flowers.

Planting snowdrop

Snowdrop and “spring snowflake” look almost exactly the same, and both have exactly the same needs when it comes to growing conditions. Each is often mistaken for the other.

• Fall is when to plant snowdrop bulbs, about 2 to 2½ inches (5 to 6 cm) deep.
• Snowdrop likes rather humus-rich soils that stay cool in summer. Therefore, forest underbrush or the shade of a hedge are the best possible spots.

Planting them under a hedge of deciduous shrubs is perfect because they’ll have the winter sun and the summer shade which suits them best.

• Feel free to cluster several dozen bulbs close together to create a massive impact.
• You can also choose spots with different exposures which will result in different blooming dates.
• Check out our guide detailing how to plant bulbs.

Caring for snowdrop

Snowdrop bulbs tend to dry up quickly and don’t cope well with being unearthed.

At the end of the blooming season, wait for the leaves to turn yellow before cutting them off, this is the period when the bulb is stocking nutrients for the following year’s blooming.

• Don’t mow before leaves have wilted completely.

In the end, snowdrop only requires very little care and is perfectly suited to beginner gardeners.

• Move snowdrops in the green, while the leaves are still standing.
• If emerging shoots collapse with a grey furry coating, dig out those bulbs along with the soil around them, because snowdrop grey mould spreads through a colony.

Snowdrops to look for

With 19 species and over 500 varieties, only a handful are widely sold. These are the ones a gardener is most likely to find in bulb catalogues and garden centres.

• Buy snowdrops in the green rather than as dry bulbs.
• Plant Galanthus ‘S. Arnott’ beside a path or doorway, where its honey scent — unusually strong for a snowdrop — is easiest to notice as you pass in late winter.

Learn more about snowdrop

This plant bears its name well, since it is among the only ones that can bloom even though snow is still around.

There are 19 snowdrop species and over 500 different varieties. The most common one with the widest distribution is the Galanthus nivalis, and farther south another common one is Galanthus elwesii (shown in the main picture at top).

From midwinter to early spring, you’ll love the small white bells that quietly announce that we’re headed towards spring.

Snowdrop generally announces spring and that means it will soon be the end of winter!

It’s also perfect for covering rocky spaces with flowers at the end of winter and the beginning of spring. It’s great way to get flowers in such spaces at this time of the year.